Selective ink feeding system for printing presses



1966 E. w. WORTHINGTON ETAL 3,236,178

SELECTIVE INK FEEDING SYSTEM FOR PRINTING PRESSES Filed Nov. 30, 1962 5Sheets-Sheet 1 LlLl INVENTOR. EMORY W. WORTHINGTON JAMES R. LANGWORTHYBY wn W flynfm inn-#77 $1 ATTORNE Y5 1966 E. w. WORTHlNGTON ETAL3,236,178

SELECTIVE INK FEEDING SYSTEM FOR PRINTING PRESSES 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledNOV. 30, 1962 5 O 2 Ww 4A A Y 8 ATTORNEYS Fell 1966 E. w. WORTHINGTONETAL 3,236,173

SELECTIVE INK FEEDING SYSTEM FOR PRINTING PRESSES 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 FiledNov. 50, 1962 R m m V m EMORY W. WORTHINGTON JAMES R. LANGWORTHY BY @nmC 'Iwz-A in/1.1, 5:11am

g0 ATTORNEYS 1966 E. w. WORTHINGTON ETAL 3,236,178

SELECTIVE INK FEEDING SYSTEM FOR PRINTING PRESSES Filed Nov. 30, 1962 5SheetsSheet 4 EMORY W. WORTHING'TON JAMES R.

1966 E. w. WORTHINGTON ETAL 3,236,178

SELECTIVE INK FEEDING SYSTEM FOR PRINTING PRESSES Filed Nov. 30, 1962 5Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG. 7

FIG. 8

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INVENTOR.

EMORY w. WORTHINGTON 52 44b 54 52 BY JAMES R. LANGWORTHY ATTORNEYSUnited States Patent 3,236,178 SELECTIVE INK FEEDING SYSTEM FOR PRINTINGPRESSES Emory W. Worthington, Ridgewood, and James R. Langworthy,Clinton, N..I., assignors to Wood Newspaper Machinery Corporation,Plainfield, N.J., a corporation of Virginia Filed Nov. 30, 1962, Ser.No. 241,204 3 Claims. (Cl. 101-365) The present invention relates to inkfeeding systems for rotary type presses and more particularly theinvention relates to a novel means for controlling the flow of ink toselective page-wide portions of the fountain roll of multi-page printingpresses.

Printing presses used in printing newspapers are normally designed tosimultaneously print a plurality of parallel page-widths and arenormally four plates or pages in width. While such conventional machinesare capable of printing four page-widths, certain runs of the press mayrequire the printing of less than four pages. For example, a run may bethree plates wide or A of a roll in width or two plates Wide which isone half a roll in width. When a multi-page press is to print less thanits full width, it is necessary to cut-off or silence the ink supply tothe page or pages not being printed while at the same time ensuring thatan adequate supply of ink reaches the page-widths which are to beprinted. -In some instances, it may be necessary to silence page-widthson either side of the roll.

Prior art mechanisms heretofore used for accomplishing proper inkcontrol have many disadvantages and weaknesses. For example, oneconventional method of cutting off or silencing the supply of ink tocertain pagewidths of a printing roll in a press having an overshot typeof ink fountain is to move a selected portion of the fountain rollcontrol blade into engagement with the fountain roll and tighten theblade against the roll until the thickness of the ink being picked upfrom the fountain trough and carried by the fountain roll is thinnerthan the clearance between the fountain and the pick-up rolls. Thus, thepick-up roll is prevented from receiving ink in the selected page-widthareas. A difficulty of this method, however, is that the blade often isforced into contact with the roll with subsequent scratching of theroll.

Another conventional method of ink control or page cut-off is to use asupplementary wiper blade located ahead of the ink fountain blade whichwipes off the ink in the selected page-width area preventing ink frombeing delivered to the fountain blade. This particular technique hasinherent faults in practical press operation in that the ink tends tospread laterally along the fountain roll to the area that has beenpreviously wiped by the supplementary blade.

The prior art mechanisms mentioned above for controlling the ink supplyto selected page-widths operated on the principle of first coating theentire width of the fountain roll and then wiping or scraping selectedareas of the roll to remove ink initially coated on the roll. In eachinstance the conventional fountain roll picks up the quantity andthickness of ink required for full page printing and a scraper orsimilar device is then used to selectively remove ink from those areasWhere ink is not desired to be printed.

The present invention regulates the application of ink to the pick-up orfeed roller in a different manner than the prior-mentioned devices inthat it provides positive control of application of ink to the fountainroll without the difiiculties inherent in the prior devices. The presentinvention operates on the principle of positively not feeding ink to thefountain roll in the areas which are not 3,236,178 Patented Feb. 22,1966 to be used for printing rather than applying ink to the completeroll and then, as a second step, wiping the ink from the selected areas.

In accordance with our invention the fountain roll is not, as in manycommercial presses, immersed in an ink trough or bath. Instead ink iscoated on the fountain roll using apparatus of general type illustratedin United States Patent No. 2,869,460 issued January 20, 1959 to E. W.Worthington in which an ink reservoir is located on the side of thefountain roll. One of the features of our invention is that ink issupplied to each page-width by a separate feed unit. Each unit comprisesan ink compartment and means for supplying ink to it.

Broadly, the present invention comprises apparatus which includes aseparate ink feed unit for each pagewidth of the fountain roll. Each inkfeed unit has an ink compartment defined by the fountain roll, a scraperblade assembly section substantially equal in length and aligned withthe page-width, and vertical dividers positioned at the ends of saidassembly.

The fountain roll apparatus in accordance with the present inventionincludes an ink compartment for each page-width. Ink is separatelysupplied to each compartment so that one compartment may be silencedWhile the other page-width compartments continue to receive ink forcoating the roll in the remaining page-wide areas. Each ink compartmentis bounded longitudinally by a scraper blade assembly section and by thecorresponding portion of the fountain roll. The scraper blade assemblysection has mounted in it a scraper blade section. The assembly sectionserves to properly position the blade section with the roll to form anink-seal and with its protruding scraper blade section comprises part ofthe ink compartment. The ends of the ink compartments are formed byvertical dividers. The dividers positioned at each end of the roll areend plates and the vertical dividers, other than the center divider,which are selectively positioned between the end plates are referred toas sector dividers. The ends of the assembly are positioned in slots inthe sides of the dividers. The sector dividers abut one side of thefountain roll with a flexible gasket material. The sector dividers arepositioned at points along the fountain roll to form ink compartments ofdesired width. A page-width is one-quarter of the web width. Web widthsfor conventional newspaper printing presses vary between 58 and 68inches. The center divider which substantially surrounds the roll issecured to parallel frame members and to the fountain blade supportframe and forms part of the press frame assembly thus giving addedrigidity to the press.

Ink is selectively fed into each compartment from a main ink conduitthrough outlets or swivel feed spigots associated with each compartment.A valve in each outlet or spigot permits regulating the flow of ink tothe compartment. Ink overflowing or dumped from the compartment isreceived by a fountain ink collector trough where the ink is cleanedwith a strainer and recirculated to the main conduit.

Reference is made to the following drawings which illustrate a preferredembodiment of our invention, in which:

FIGS. 1a and lb, viewed together, show a side elevation view of the backof aprinting press fountain roll and its associated page-wide inkcompartment, fountain collector trough, and ink supply conduits;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged section taken through line 2-2 of FIG. 1b showingthe fountain roll, an ink compartment with center page divider, thefountain blade control assembly and the fountain collector trough andink supply system;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view of a single page-wide ink compartmenttaken along line 33 of FIG. 2 illustrating the positioning of the centerand sector dividers with the fountain roll;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view through line 44 of FIG. 3 showingthe main ink conduit and an outlet and valve arrangement for supplyingink to the various compartments;

FIG. 5 is a section taken along line 55 of FIG. 4 showing in detail anoutlet and valve arrangement; and,

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view through line 66 of FIG. 4 showing alock tension device for securing the blade holder and moving the scraperblade section toward the fountain roll;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional elevation view showing an alternativelocation for the main ink conduit and its swivel feed spigot; and

FIG. 8 is a sectional view through line-88 of FIG. 7 showing the swivelspigot mounted in the ink conduit positioned to discharge ink into thecompartment.

Referring to the drawings in detail and in particular to FIG. 1a andFIG. 1b, it is seen that the printing press side frames 1 support atboth ends a fountain roll 2 and a pick-up roll 3 through axle bearingarrangements 4, 5, 6 and 7.

In this conventional newspaper press, two end plates 11 and threedividers 8 and 12 separate the four pagewidth compartments. These fourink compartments, A, B, C and D are positioned in a row along the sideof fountain roll 2. A vertical center divider 8 is positioned at thecenter of the roll which is secured to the fountain blade mechanismframe support 9 and parallel frame members 10. End plates 11 formvertical fluid-tight ends for outer ink compartments A and D. Inaddition to the center divider 8 and end plates 11, the compartments arebounded by vertical sector dividers 12. Longitudinally positionedbetween the dividers and end plates are scraper blade assembly sections13. Mounted in and protruding from the assembly sections are scraperblade sections 14. Sections 14 are placed in tension and urged towardthe roll by lock tension devices 15. The ends of each scraper bladeassembly section abut and are sealed against their respective dividersand end plates.

Ink overflowing from assembly section 13 drains down to fountaincollector trough 16. Pipe 17 serves as a drain for trough 16. Ink ispumped through feed pipe 18 and main manifold conduit 19 onto thecompartments. Each compartment receives ink from the main conduit 19through individual compartment outlet channels 40.

In FIG. 2, fountain roll 2 has center vertical divider 8 positionedperpendicular to the axis of the roll. The center divider, unlike thesector dividers which only abut the fountain roll on one side,substantially surrounds the fountain roll and extends on either side ofthe roll a sufficient distance to permit the divider to be secured toparallel members of the frame assembly. The ink seal between the centerdivider and the rotating fountain roll is provided by a seal ring 20which rides in groove 21 of the roll. A seal ring is employed tofacilitate accurate machining of the press parts and to provide foreasier assembly of these press parts.

A feature of our invention is the placement of the center divider inorder that it forms part of the press frame which includes side frameswhich in turn support the fountain roll ends. Parallel frame members aremounted between these side frames parallel to and on either side of thefountain roll. The center divider is positioned substantiallyequidistant between and parallel to the side frames and is secured tothe fountain blade mechanism frame support which in turn is parallel tothe fountain roll and, like the roll, is supported by the side frames.The center divider has an opening in it to receive the rotatablefountain roll in fluid-sealed engagement. This novel construction servesto reduce'movement and vibration of the press during its operation andparticularly reduces movement of the fountain blade control assembly andassociated parts.

The scraper blade assembly section determines the length of thecompartment. Each assembly section includes a scraper blade holdersection 23, a scraper blade section 14 and bolts 36 for securing theblade to the holder. The blade holder 23 is positioned in slots 22 cutin the sides of the compartment dividers. Slots 22 have upper surfaces22a and lower surfaces 2211 which guide and support the blade holdersections 23 in their nontensioned positions. Each divider has two slots22, one on each side, while end plates 11 each require only one slot.Lock tension devices 15 are mounted on the sides of the dividers and endplates and serve to secure the scraper blade holder against surfaces 22aand 22b which urges scraper blade section 14 into ink-sealed engagementwith the rotatable fountain roll 2.

Each ink compartment is bounded by the fountain roll 2, scraper bladeassembly section 13 including protruding blade section 14, dividers andend plates positioned at the ends of the assembly section. As the ink isfed into the compartment it forms an ink pocket 24. The fountain rollpicks up a coat of ink as it rotates in a clock-wise direction. Thethickness and uniformity of this ink coat is controlled by the settingof the fountain blade 25. Blade 25 and its control mechanisms 26 aremounted on frame support 9. The blade 25 is flexed by action of fulcrum27 through blade control mechanism 26.

Ink overflowing from the compartment falls into fountain collectortrough 16. After passing through screen 28 it drains out pipe 17 to anink pump for redelivery to main conduit 19.

In FIG. 3, center divider seal ring 20 forms an ink seal between centerdivider 8 and fountain roll 2. Sector divider 12 has a resilient gasket29 positioned between the fountain roll and the divider to form aneffective ink seal. The gasket is preferably made ofbutadieneacrylonitrile.

Scraper blade section 14 has one edge 30 positioned substantiallyparallel to and urged toward the roll to form an ink seal therewith.Edge 30 of the blade section is Withdrawn from the roll to permitdumping of the ink from the compartment. Slots 22 are formed in the sideof the dividers. Scraper blade holder 23 has center V-shaped inkoverflow area.

In FIG. 4 main ink conduit 19 has feed outlet hole 31 which communicateswith passageway 32 in the end for rotatable valve stem 34. Valve stem 34is mounted in center divider 8, the stem and the divider havingcorresponding threaded portions which permit the stem to be rotated byturning stem hand grip 35, thus regulating the flow of ink throughoutlet channel 40' into the compartment.

The depth of the ink pocket in the ink compartment is determined by theslope and width of the scraper blade assembly section including theprotruding scraper blade section. Ink which is added to the compartmentafter it has been filled overflows through the center portion ofV-shaped notch and drains into the fountain trough which extends thelength of the fountain roll. The ink passes through a screen in thetrough to remove all foreign matter and is then pumped from the fountaintrough into main ink conduit from which it is again distributed to thevarious page-Wide compartments. Ink drained from the trough may bepumped directly back into the main supply conduit or may be divertedinto a storage tank. When a storage tank is used the ink pump takes itssuction from the tank.

Scraper blade section 14 is mounted on scraper blade holer 23 with bolts36. Any suitable clamping and tensioning device may be used which iscapable both of holding the blade section in ink-sealed relation withthe roll and permitting the blade to withdraw from the roll for dumpingof the contained ink. Lock tension device 15. includes a handle 37 whichis pivotally mounted on screw 38. Handle 37 has cam portion 39 whichengages with slot surfaces 22a and 22b to secure scraper blade holder 23and causing blade section 14 to be pressed against the fountain roll.The device is shown in its tensioned position. Sector divider 12,fountain blade mechanism frame support 9 and fountain blade 25 are alsoshown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 5 is a detail of the valve arrangement for controlling the flow ofink from main conduit 19' into the compartment. Valve stem 34 ispositioned in center divider 8. The stem is perpendicular to and abutsagainst main conduit 19. Conduit 19 has an outlet hole 31 whichcommunicates with the permits the flow of ink to and through passageway32 formed in the abutting end of the stem. Passageway 32 is formed inend of stem 34 by the removal of one-half of the end portion fromshoulder 33 to that end of the stem which abuts conduit 19. When thestem is rotated to the position shown in the figure passageway 32communicates with channel 40 and ink flows to the ink compartment. Inkflow is regulated and stopped by rotating stem 34 until the unremovedend portion blocks entrance to channel 40.

In FIG. 6, lock tension device is shown positioned in the end portion ofthe scraper blade assembly section which abuts the center divider 8.Screw 38 engages with scraper blade holder 23. When handle 37 is turnedto the position shown by the dashed line 41 the cam portion 39 is placedin tension with slot 22 causing the scraper blade section 14 to be urgedagainst the fountain roll.

In FIG. 7, main ink conduit 19 is positioned outside of and below theink compartment. Swivel feed spigot 42 is rotatably positioned on andsurrounds the conduit 19. Spigot 42 has a housing 43 which is formed intwo hemispheres 44a and 44b which are secured to one another by bolts45. Extending from hemisphere 44a is pipe 46. Conduit 19 has outlet hold47 which communicates with pipe 46 when the spigot is in the positionshown in FIG. 7. Valve 48 has a cylindrical gate 49 with removed section50 to regulate the flow of ink by turning gate handle 51.

In FIG. 8, pipe 46 is shown in the position for discharging ink into thecompartment over V-shaped ink overflow area of scraper blade holder 23.The valve housing which surrounds conduit 19 is positioned influid-sealed engagement therewith by gasket units 52. Cylindrical valvegate 49 is shown in the open position. Nipple 53 mounted on the outsideof conduit 19 travels in housing groove 54. When the spigot is in thedischarge position the nipple rests on one end of the housing groove 54and when the spigot is in its retired or down position the nipple restson the other end of the housing groove.

The alternative embodiment of our invention as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8provides the additional feature of reducing the ink cleaningrequirements of the printing press by positioning the main ink conduitoutside of the ink compartment in order to prevent the exterior of theconduit from becoming covered with ink. Placing the main ink conduitoutside of and below the ink compartment eliminates the necessity forcleaning the outside of the conduit when the particular page-width ofthe printing press is converted to a color ink.

The present invention is particularly adapted for controlling the supplyof ink to high-speed rotary printing presses, where silencing ofpage-widths is often required and a continuous supply of clean ink isparticularly important due to necessity of preventing any down-time ofthe presses.

A feature of the present invention is maintaining a supply of fresh andclean ink to selected areas of the fountain roll through a recirculatorysystem which carries the ink through a filter positioned in the fountaincollector trough. The fountain roll may be enclosed in a fountainhousing to minimize the entry of cellulose fibers, dirt and otherforeign matter into the ink supply.

We claim:

1. A rotary type printing press having a multipage fountain roll, sideframes for supporting said roll, parallel frame members connecting saidside frames and extending below said roll to form part of an inkcollecting trough, a center divider contacting the center of said roll,a movable scraper blade assembly including a plurality of scraper bladesections each urged towards said roll, end plates positioned at the endsof said scraper blade assembly whereby said fountain roll, scraper bladesections, end plates, and center divider form an ink retaining chamberwherein each said scraper blade section forms a part of the bottom ofthe chamber and wherein said scraper blade section is positioned inadvance of said chamber relative to the rotation of said roll wherebyportions of said roll are scraped before contacting the chamber, and afountain blade assembly supported by said side frames and positionedabove said chamber for regulating the amount of ink on said roll; saidcenter divider being fixed to said parallel frame members to provideadditional support to said fountain blade assembly to increase therigidity of the fountain blade assembly.

2. A press according to claim 1 wherein said end plates are movablelongitudinally of the roll and having in addition movable sectordividers movable longitudinally of the roll which form with said scraperblade sections, roll, end plates and center divider, a plurality ofadjustable page width ink retaining compartments in the ink retainingchamber.

3. A press according to claim 2 having in addition an ink supply meansfor each said compartment, valve means for regulating flow of ink intoeach said compartment from said supply means and locking means formoving each said blade section into and out of scraping contact withsaid roll whereby ink supplied to individual page width portions of theroll may be silenced.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 318,617 5/1885Hawkins 101-365 729,002 5/1903 Spalckhaver 10l365 X 1,962,897 6/1934Duffy et a1. 101365 1,995,701 3/1935 Buttner 101365 X 2,744,464 5/1956Harless 101-2-10 X ROBERT E. PULFREY, Primary Examiner.

1. A ROTARY TYPE PRINTING PRESS HAVING A MULTIPAGE FOUNTAIN ROLL, SIDEFRAMES FOR SUPPORTING SAID ROLL, PARALLEL FRAME MEMBERS CONNECTING SAIDSIDE FRAMES AND EXTENDING BELOW SAID ROLL TO FORM PART OF AN INKCOLLECTING TROUGH, A CENTER DIVIDER CONTACTING THE CENTER OF SAID ROLL,A MOVABLE SCRAPER BLADE ASSEMBLY INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF SCRAPER BLADESECTIONS EACH URGED TOWARDS SAID ROLL, END PLATES POSITIONED AT THE ENDSOF SAID SCRAPER BLADE ASSEMBLY WHEREBY SAID FOUNTAIN ROLL, SCRAPER BLADESECTIONS, END PLATES, AND CENTER DIVIDER FORM AN INK RETAINING CHAMBERWHEREIN EACH SAID SCRAPER BLADE SECTION FORMS A PART OF THE BOTTOM OFTHE CHAMBER AND WHEREIN SAID SCRAPER BLADE SECTION IS POSITIONED INADVANCE OF SAID CHAMBER RELATIVE TO THE ROTATION OF SAID ROLL WHEREBYPORTIONS OF SAID ROLL ARE SCRAPED BEFORE CONTACTING THE CHAMBER, AND AFOUNTAIN BLADE ASSEMBLY SUPPORTED BY SAID SIDE FRAMES AND POSITIONEDABOVE SAID CHAMBER FOR REGULATING THE AMOUNT OF INK ON SAID ROLL; SAIDCENTER DIVIDER BEING FIXED TO SAID PARALLEL FRAME MEMBERS TO PRO-